Biography
In March 2019, a criminal case was initiated in Zeya against the peaceful pensioner Vasiliy Reznichenko. The labor veteran was put on trial only because of his faith in Jehovah God. In June 2021, the court found the believer guilty of participating in extremist activities and sentenced him to 2 years of probation. A month later, the appellate court upheld the verdict.
Vasiliy was born in 1942 in the village of Murovka, Primorskiy Territory, into a large family of collective farmers. He was the youngest of five children. After school he graduated from the Dalnerechensk school and received the profession of a tractor driver-machinist of a wide profile. In the army, he continued his studies at the evening school, and then — at the river school in Blagoveshchensk, specializing in "navigator-mechanic".
Having moved to Zeya, Vasiliy got a job as the second navigator of a motor ship in the Zeya river port. A year later he was appointed captain of the ship. In this position, he conscientiously worked until 1991, received the title of "veteran of labor of the USSR." Later he worked as a caretaker in a kindergarten, now he is on a well-deserved rest. Vasiliy still leads an active lifestyle, he is engaged in Scandinavian walking.
Vasiliy met his future wife Valentina in 1966, three years later they got married. The wife worked as an accountant in the district committee of the Komsomol of Blagoveshchensk. Together we moved to Zeya, where Valentina continued to work in her specialty in the local city council. When the children appeared, she completely occupied herself with the household, raising three sons. Unfortunately, in 2016, Valentina passed away.
In the mid-1990s, Valentina was the first to show an interest in the Bible. Soon Vasiliy also became interested in biblical teachings. He was especially impressed by the biblical teaching on paradise on earth. “Before that, I had heard the widespread opinion that all good people go to heaven after death,” he says. “It was not clear to me why the earth was needed then. Having learned from the Holy Scriptures that the righteous will inherit the earth and will live on it forever, I accepted this truth with all my heart and began to tell others about it." Every year Vasiliy tries to completely read the Bible, and he has managed to do this many times.
Several years of criminal prosecution affected the believer's health. In November 2019, Vasiliy was included in the Rosfinmonitoring List of Terrorists and Extremists, and 170,000 rubles were blocked in his bank account, which was a significant amount for him. The support of relatives and fellow believers helped Vasiliy survive all the difficulties.
The sons, although they do not share the religious beliefs of their father, are very worried about him and consider the court's decision absolutely unfounded.